Ana Moura has become a leading exponent of this poetic, deeply expressive idiom which personifies the Portuguese psyche as it explores such universal themes as lost love, separation, and longing.
As Ana explains, "It's very special because it's all about emotions and feelings. It needs no translation."
Ana was born in 1980, in Santarém, the bustling capital of the Ribatejo province in the center of Portugal's heartland on the Tejo River northeast of Lisbon.
The city of half a million souls is also one of Portugal's most historic cities -- an ideal place to develop an appreciation for fado. "I've been singing fado since I was little, because grew up listening to it at home," she recalls of her early home life. "My parents sang well, and at family gatherings, we all would sing."
Like young people everywhere, she soon developed an appreciation for other styles of music. The lure of singing fado, however, never waned. In her late teens, while sing pop and rock music with a local band, Ana always included at least one fado in each performance. Then, one night on a whim, about five years ago, she and some friends went to one of Lisbon's storied fado houses -- small performance venues where singers, guitarists and aficionados gather to worship the affecting style that's become Portugal's most important music export.
At the urging of her companions, she sang. "People liked me," she recalls of her first foray into a venerated bastion of the fado culture. Later that year, at a Christmas party that was attended by a lot of fadistas (fado singers) and guitarists, she sang again and, as fate would have it, noted fado vocalist Maria de Fe was in the audience and was duly impressed. "She asked me to sing at her fado house," Ana recalls of the fortuitous moment that launched her career.
"My life changed when I began going to the fado houses," Ana states today. "There's no microphone -- it's very intimate. New singers learn through a kind of apprenticeship, learning the intricacies of the style from the older, more established singers."
Before long, word of Ana's rich contralto, stunning looks and innate affinity for the demanding style spread, winning airtime on local television programs devoted to fado and rave reviews in Lisbon newspapers.
Ana has emerged as a leading voice of traditional fado just as the venerable idiom is enjoying a renaissance of popularity. "Today," she explains, "there's a new generation that sings lyrics related to our time. There are some older fado songs that we, the younger singers, cannot perform, because the lyrics are about a time and themes we don't identify with. We don't feel it, and fado is all about feelings. We must feel what we sing, and there are many older fados that don't belong to our generation. Younger singers use lyrics that speak of today, so young people have begun to get more interested in the music again."
As with jazz and country music in the U.S., tango in Argentina, samba in Brazil, fado sprang from the culture of working class people. And, as with the aforementioned examples, over the years the style evolved from humble origins to win broad appeal. Today, as Ana proudly proclaims, "In Portugal, fado is for everyone."
Like virtually every aspiring fadista, Ana drew early inspiration from the example of Amalia Rodrigues, the revered singer who most personified the style. "It was her soul and her voice," she comments of the late vocalist's singular imprint on the music. "She had everything in her. Some singers have a great voice by no soul, no intensity. Others have feeling but not a suitable voice. She had it all, and, she was a very good improviser."
Improvising is an under-appreciated part of the fado tradition. One technique, which Ana uses to great effect on the song "Lavava no rio lavava" (I Went to the River to Wash), is what the Portuguese term vocalisos -- the expression of words and effects through use of vocal trills. The practice is believed to have been absorbed over centuries of exposure to Spanish flamenco and Moorish styles.
A key track from her album exquisitely sums up the magnetic pull fado has exerted on Ana. "Sou do fado, sou fadista" (I belong to fado, I am a fadista) by her mentor and primary collaborator, guitarist Jorge Fernando, eloquently explains Ana's total surrender to the style:
"I know my soul has surrendered, taken my voice in hand, twisted in my chest and shown it to the world. And I have closed my eyes in a wistful longing to sing, to sing. And a voice sings to me softly, and a voice enchants me softly, I belong to fado, I belong to fado, I am a fadista."
Today, Ana Moura still thinks of how and where it all began, and of the importance of keeping those vital ties alive. "Before," she muses, "I used to sing in the fado house every day. Today, because of my concert schedule and travel, it's impossible. But, when time permits, I like to return. Sometimes I feel that I must go there. I need that."
(Adapted from a text by Cindy Byram)
Primeira Vez
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Depois quase sem aviso
É que o beijo aconteceu
Nesse infinito segundo
Fora de mim e do mundo
Minha voz emudeceu
Ficaram gestos suspensos
Como poemas calados
Teceram a melodia
Enquanto a lua vestia
Nossos corpos desnudados
Duas estrelas no meu peito
No teu meu anjo perfeito
A voz do búzio escondido
Os lençóis ondas de mar
Onde fomos naufragar
Como dois barcos perdidos
First, one smile
Then, almost of a sudden
Our kiss succeeds.
In this endless second,
tossed out of my body and out of this world,
my voice silents.
Only repressed gestures remain
and our immeasurable desires
give vent to the melody
like silent poems
as the moonlight dresses
our bodies in nude
Two stars lay on my chest
And on yours, my angel of perfection,
mumbles the voice from a hidden wirstle
The sheets are the waves of the sea
where we sink together,
like two ships adrift
The lyrics of Ana Moura’s “Primeira Vez” capture the feelings and sensations of a first intimate encounter. The song tells the story of two people coming together and exploring the depths of their passion. A smile is the first sign of attraction, followed by an unexpected kiss that leaves the singer speechless. As they explore each other’s bodies, their desires culminate into an unspoken, yet beautiful melody that is weaved amidst their intertwined bodies. The two are lost in the moment, oblivious to the world around them, as they ride the waves of their passion, much like two ships adrift.
The song’s lyrics are incredibly evocative and sensory, painting vivid images of the lovers’ encounter. The singer uses beautiful metaphors to describe the sensations and emotions such as “two stars lay on my chest” and “the sheets are the waves of the sea”. The images help to emphasize the depth and richness of the encounter as well as the emotional investment both parties make to attain a rare intimacy.
Overall, the song has a dream-like effect that is accentuated by the reverberation of the Portuguese guitar played throughout the song. The song's enchanting lyrics partnered with the Portuguese guitar's mournful melody, allow the listener to be swept away by the palpable intensity of the first-time-love encounter.
Line by Line Meaning
Primeiro foi um sorriso
The first thing that happened was a smile.
Depois quase sem aviso
Then, almost unexpectedly.
É que o beijo aconteceu
That's when the kiss happened.
Nesse infinito segundo
In that never-ending second.
Fora de mim e do mundo
Outside of myself and the world.
Minha voz emudeceu
My voice became silent.
Ficaram gestos suspensos
Gestures were left hanging.
E os desejos imensos
As were our immense desires.
Como poemas calados
Like unspoken poems.
Teceram a melodia
They weaved the melody.
Enquanto a lua vestia
While the moon dressed.
Nossos corpos desnudados
Our bodies naked.
Duas estrelas no meu peito
Two stars on my chest.
No teu meu anjo perfeito
In yours, my perfect angel.
A voz do búzio escondido
The voice of the hidden conch.
Os lençóis ondas de mar
The sheets are waves of the sea.
Onde fomos naufragar
Where we crashed.
Como dois barcos perdidos
Like two lost boats.
Contributed by Caleb O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
SZM0K1N
"Sobe o fado de tom E o fadista que é bom improvisa Estão em saldos sapatos Desce o preço dos fatos de cor lisa"
roazcorvineir0
Ainda me lembro do magnífico concerto que a Ana Moura deu à cerca de 3 anos (?) no Concertgebouw em Amsterdão, segundo muitos a sala com melhor acústica do mundo. A certa altura a Ana decide cantar sem microfone, numa performance que fez arrepiar o mais insensível.... Na próxima quinta vou a Amsterlveen vê-la outra vez aqui na Holanda. Parabéns Ana, volta sempre!
Susana Neves
Tens um timbre muito bonito! E sabes cantar, acima de tudo, sabes cantar e expressar-te com a voz!Vi-te em Olhão e adorei, de uma cantora admiradora!
Sim One
A ingratidão é um dos grandes males da humanidade. Essa maravilhosa fadista, interpreta de forma magnifica essa linda canção e as pessoas assistem gratuitamente, mas não são capazes de dar o sinal 👍 que gostaram do vídeo. O mínimo que se poderia fazer é sinalizar que gostou, não custa nada.
Eu sou brasileira(Sul) e aprendi a gostar de fado ouvindo Ana Moura. Parabéns Ana, por cantar com alma, você entrega seu coração quando canta, é simplesmente maravilhosa! 🙆🌹🌸🌼😘
Maurício Cordeiro
voz inconfundível!!!espectacular
SZM0K1N
"Simplesmente Fantástico"
Conceição Aguilar
Não a conhecia e estou encantada, uma bela voz e magnífica interpretação.
Catarina 🕊🌹
Magnífica!!
vasco cunha
é mau e bom ao mesmo tempo ver que só os estrangeiros apreciam fado. é lindo o fado
Dimirus Sanctus
...bela voz...transmite emoção....estou ouvindo-a pela primeira vez....belíssimo...